


[days]

by strata



Series: This Is The Future [2]
Category: ENHYPEN (Band), I-LAND (Korea TV)
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - Cyberpunk, Androids, Angst, Dark, Dubious Morality, Human Experimentation, Humor, Infidelity, Inhuman Practices, Introspection, M/M, Politics, Romance, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:42:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28290333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strata/pseuds/strata
Summary: “Do you believe in fate and reincarnation?”Park Sunghoon asks Jay and Project JAEYOON this as they all watch two wisps of glowing light chase each other within a glass capsule: Sunoo and Niki who are inseparable in life, and remain the same in one of the many forms of death.
Relationships: Kim Sunoo/Nishimura Riki | Ni-ki, Park Jongseong | Jay/Park Sunghoon, Park Sunghoon/Shim Jaeyoon | Jake
Series: This Is The Future [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2057751
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	[days]

**Author's Note:**

> ** this is a Christmas gift since I won't be back for a while. that and i'm so thankful for the wonderful feedback you guys gave part 1 despite how confusing and ambitious the story and series is. i hope the sequel's first chapter tides you over and addresses _some_ of your questions.  **
> 
> ** a little warning: this sequel is explicit for a reason. i want to explore some mature themes, so please be warned. that being said, ily guys and happy holidays! promise i'll get to replying to all of your comments soon. **
> 
> ** SONG RECS! [[days] Spotify playlist](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0uZVN10PbV6yiXBRcEWf7t?si=TB-gsYTDQ1uotVcT-k7A_w) _(not arranged in any particular order)_. **
> 
> ** if you're new to this series, please read [electric boy] first if you would like to understand the references i'll be making here. thank you and off you go :) **

> _The National Assembly continues its probe with the Japanese head scientist Ishikawa Yuuto sharing his team’s research progress today during the ongoing plenary session for the Life Restart Initiative for Criminals. The Ministry of Government Legislation continues to look into and consider the implications of passing the LRIfC since this bill, once_ _enforced, will replace the Death Sentence by,_ and we quote: _“allowing Criminals the opportunity to start anew and become better members of Society by giving them a second chance through the Recreating and Reforming process.”_
> 
> _A quick look back on the highlights of this bill as seen and heard during its initial introduction to the Speaker of the Assembly:_
> 
> “The truth of the matter is, we’re no longer dying–not in the same rate we used to. Technology and innovation has given each of us the option to live as long as we like and as long as we can, for as long as we have the money to be able to afford _forever._ And why won’t we be able to? Modified as most of us are, we now have the ability to work longer hours, or multiple jobs, and this allows us to earn more money in order to extend our lives even further.” 
> 
> Criminals are no different. They have the same access as we do, the same options of achieving infinity. We can’t stop them from coming back any more than anyone else can stop us from doing so, _but_ the major difference here is, Criminals we have supposedly sentenced to die are doing this **illegally**. To make matters worse, we won’t even know that they’ve come back until much later, or until it’s too late, as in the Lazarus cases we’ve seen the past decade.
> 
> This is already alarming as it is, and yet, no one’s devising a way to stop these Resurrections from happening. Yes, these Criminals are caught _again and again,_ but that’s the system simply being reactive: arrest, trial, death sentence–a wasteful, useless and time-consuming carousel because these Criminals have proven that they can _and_ will continue to come back. 
> 
> Now is the time for a proactive approach to stop these Resurrections from happening once and for all, and the Life Restart Initiative for Criminals is the solution. By recreating and reforming these people, we not only give them a chance to live a new life, _a better life,_ we’re able to **monitor** them too. And doesn’t that work all around? You and I can sleep better at night knowing these Criminals aren’t a threat. Not to our spouses, not to our children, not even to themselves.”
> 
> _Human Rights groups are still strongly opposed to the LRIfC however, insisting that whether good or bad, a person’s choice to be one or the other is born out of their Free Will, the one thing that any Human Being has the right to._
> 
> “Recreating and Reforming them through this bill takes _that_ right away and in the worst manner possible. We’re talking about meddling with a person’s mind and turning them into someone else to suit our needs. That’s wrong no matter how you look at it. Yes, the people who will undergo the process are Criminals with most having done unforgivable things, but aren’t we just turning into another version of them by allowing something like the LRIfC to become a law so we can protect ourselves? _Violate the human rights of a few to protect the majority._ Are we willing to stoop this low? We’ve taken playing God far enough, but let’s not go _too_ far.”
> 
> _Civilians have mixed reactions on the matter._
> 
> “At the very least, they’re still alive. We haven’t killed them. I think that’s a fair trade: isn’t that better than _murdering_ criminals?"
> 
> “Whenever I think about it, I end up imagining someone close to me, like my mom. If someone told me they need to change her because she committed a crime, I don’t know how I’ll be able to handle it. Will she remember me at all? Will she still love me back? It’s a depressing thought, my mom becoming a stranger. She won’t even suffer if she ends up forgetting she has a son, but I will.”
> 
> “My daughter got stalked by the same person from childhood to her teenage years. He kept coming back, despite the restraining orders. This is a good idea. Maybe people will start thinking twice about doing something that breaks the law when this bill is finally enforced. I fully support it.”
> 
> “I don’t really care, and so do a lot of other people I think. In the end, everyone will keep doing what they can get away with.”
> 
> “We have no right to delete who people are and then decide what new form they should take. They’re human beings, not machines, despite the new shells they’ve decided to encase themselves in.”
> 
> “Teach these criminals a lesson! That’ll scare the rest of the wannabes!”
> 
> _To date and the reason behind the creation of the LRIfC, there have been a total of 22 Lazarus cases in South Korea alone, with the highest number of same-person Resurrections at twelve instances._
> 
> **_Up next..._ **  
> **_Apple announces the_ ** **iPhone Infinite** **_release and specs._ **

  
  
  


The Mansion’s state-of-the-art underground Laboratory was always dark despite its multitude of fluorescent lights that gave the people who worked there the visibility they required. Even with the abundance of white and stainless steel all about, it wasn’t _bright_ where Jake was concerned, and he had no clue why. 

But his therapist did. 

It was just a theory of course, but she said that what he probably associated with the place was what made it seem “dark.” It didn’t matter that he had no memories to go along with his repulsion of laboratories–his very existence was powerful enough to remember on his behalf, serving as a reminder that he used to and should continue to find such settings unpleasant. It was strange, but then Jake’s very presence in the world was too, in itself. Nothing new there. 

The theory though, although he didn’t quite understand it, was interesting. 

“Anything that has left an impression on us, they leave marks that shape and make us into whoever we are or whoever we have the potential of becoming," Dr. Kyo Miyoung had told him during one of their sessions, a kind smile ever present on her red-painted lips. “The degree of an event’s effect on us and how we react to it as soon as we Reincarnate, it may vary depending on the significance of said event. All the same, the greater the impact, then the deeper the Trauma, and the more our subconscious remembers.”

Jake remembered that session clearly and with a peculiar sense of clarity, but not in moving pictures. Instead, he recalled it in sound which had been abundant at the time: the thrum of the AC over their heads, the squeak of his therapist’s swivel chair every time she moved, the abrupt stop of her ballpoint pen against the paper she was writing on because it was running out of ink... that was how the memory resonated with him. In fact and in general, it was how memories stayed with Jake, and he had no idea why either. 

Of course Dr. Kyo had another theory, one that she finally brought up during a session a few weeks before Jake’s great escape from BELYFT. 

“Professional training, probably. Before you were Reincarnated, you most likely had above-the-range listening skills. You may be remembering it unconsciously. This is why we’re so hopeful, Jake. Maybe your memories are there hiding somewhere, merely being blocked, because all of the things you seem to know without any idea why you know them, they have to be coming from _somewhere._ ”

Jake hadn’t understood it at the time, how something he lost could just be right there when it was supposedly destroyed along with his Transient Body, but then it was between Off Mode and Reactivation that he realized what Dr. Kyo most likely meant.

But as in all things of this nature, Jake wasn’t going to piece things together until much, much later. 

_It was a dome. A great, protective dome that Jake couldn’t enter. It was made of something hard and unbreakable, translucent so that he could see what was inside. In it was another him, although this other Jake, whoever he was, was an emaciated version of himself. It was a frightening sight, to see oneself with abnormally gaunt cheeks and such thin arms, white hospital gown clinging onto a barely-there frame and falling off one shoulder._

**Test Subject 677** , _the band on this other Jake’s wrist said as he walked past on the other side of the dome’s wall, palms tracing its surface as if he was searching for something. Jake followed his frail self, knocking on the barrier with frantic taps, but the Jake on the side side simply kept trudging on in a zombie-like state, unable to hear him._

 _“Hey!_ Hey!”

_Before he could try anything else after screaming himself hoarse though, Jake found himself slowly waking up and in the place he hated the most. His first clue was the numerous sounds in the background, a cacophony that fed his thoughts, making him aware of what was happening around him and allowing it to become a stronger memory._

“...understand that you’re worried Mr. Park, but he’s fine. We’ve made the installation of the new Mech Leg as painless…”

_Project JAEYOON has been reset and reactivated._   
_Downloading all gathered information..._   
_Assessing model for any remaining damage..._   
_None found._   
_Project JAEYOON is functioning at 96.63%._

“... me see him! I was told that he flat-lined! He was supposed to be deactivated, so how the hell–!”

“We don’t know that yet sir. We’re looking into it now, but at the moment, he’s safe. He'll be awake in no time after we finish any updates needed. Please Mr. Park, with all due respect–”

“I want a detailed report! Send it through ICE! I’m almost at the Mansion, I want him Activated and awake when I get there and…”

_Checking for new updates..._   
_Twenty-seven found._   
_Installation in progress, please wait..._

“Once the updates finish, most definitely sir.”

Jake shifted in bed, the corner of his lips lifting in a grimace as he opened his eyes. The lights overhead were too sharp. 

“Dr. Ishikawa? The lights please.”

 _“Jake!_ Why are you–did you override your Systems _again?_ You’re still updating; you shouldn’t be awake!"

Ignoring the doctor who did dim the lights but was ranting in the background as he paused in the multitude of things he was doing, Jake pushed the blankets covering his body aside and looked down at his new Mech Leg, smiling when he noticed it still had the bright twinkling light around the ankle. 

All while Dr. Ishikawa continued rambling. 

“... we’ll have to restart you again after the updates are done, you’ll run yourself ragged and feel tired immediately if you–”

Jake looked up then, still smiling as he interrupted in a singsong. He didn’t like it when Dr. Ishikawa was worried, and this was one thing that would surely take the doctor’s minds off things. 

“I dreamed, doctor.”

Dr. Ishikawa went still, eyes widening in the shape of saucers. 

“You did? This is what... just the second time right? _That’s good news!”_

Jake nodded and was just about to his mouth to expound and tell the doctor more about the dream itself, but suddenly Park Sunghoon was there, striding in after Project ICE opened the door for them. He looked both worried and infuriated, and Jake’s entire world stopped as his focus shifted on _just_ the person who had arrived. 

It was his favorite person in the world. 

“Hoonie!”

Practically flying out of bed, Sunghoon met him halfway, nearly lifting him from the ground as those strong arms wrapped around his waist to crush him in an embrace. 

“Jakey! Are you feeling all right?”

Pulling slightly back, Jake nodded his head eagerly before burrowing against Sunghoon’s chest.

“I’m perfect Sunghoon-ah, and my new Mech Leg still has the lights, look! And– _oh,_ hi Project ICE! And Jay, you’re here too!”

Jake waved his hand over Sunghoon’s shoulder just then, distracted. Project ICE gave him a polite bow while Jay, who had just walked in looking anxious himself, waved back with something akin to confusion on his face. Jake wondered what he was confused about. 

“What’s the matter, Jay? Is everything okay?”

Sunghoon guided him back on the bed, seating Jake on the edge of it and running his fingers on the side of his face gently. There was a softer, calmer smile on his lips as he leaned in for a quick peck on Jake’s forehead.. 

“We were just worried about you, love... you scared us by flat-lining. It’s never happened before. But we’ll figure out what’s wrong and it’ll never happen again, ok?”

But Jake was still gazing back at Jay who was watching him just as closely, his expression a cross between baffled and concerned. Jake didn’t like it, especially when it was directed towards him, and he wanted to make the expression disappear. He was more partial to smiles after all–people were beautiful when they smiled. 

“But it’s not that, Hoonie. Jay looks like he’s having a hard time figuring something out. Should I help him, or will you?”

Jake watched Sunghoon glance back at the person in question, and Jay looked a little embarrassed all of a sudden as their gazes met across the room.

“You’ve got something to say, Jongseong?”

Jay fidgeted slightly, looking more and more unsure about whether or not he should bring up whatever it was bothering him, but with much help from Sunghoon’s impatient sigh and he blurted out: 

“Is Jake ok? Why is he acting like—”

He never finished the question. 

Sunghoon tensed, and in the next second before even Jake could realize what was happening, he found himself being turned off. 

_“Command override code 0677, force shut down Project JAEYOON.”_

It was like falling asleep, but in a snap—Jake fell limp in Sunghoon’s arms, Sunghoon who was glaring at Jay with the ferociousness of a protective beast. But then that was as much as Jake would be able to remember later, missing the words that followed. 

“Do you remember what I told you about the impacts of the LRIfC on an experimental level? _This_ is one of them. Jongseong, I want you to meet _Project 677_ , the only survivor of the _CHAMBER-Zero_ Program. But first thing’s first: you’re **never** going to talk about it in front of Jake _ever_ again. Do you understand?”

Baffled and more confused than ever, Jay simply nodded his head even though he hadn’t really received an answer to his incomplete question. 

“Of course, Mr. Park. I understand.”

Though he actually didn’t quite get it, but Jay was going to, and soon. 


End file.
